Startups: An Outsider’s Perspective
By Guest Blogger (Dan Vorlage)
So Krista’s in the middle of a well-deserved vacation to Central America which means she’s now only checking email 20 times-a-day. But it also means that it’s a good time for a guest blog. I have a number of friends in the corporate world who are considering making the jump to a startup so here’s what I’ve learned after dabbling in the space a bit.
First off, I’ll state the obvious. Working with a startup company has taken some getting used to. It’s strange going from a 5,000-person company to a 5-person company. I’ve spent 8 years working somewhat regular hours, reporting through the chain of command, trying to stay in line with dress codes, etc. I’m having to un-learn those habits. I can imagine that it’s somewhat like going from a military career to civilian life. Yeah it’s great to be in control of your life again, but at times you miss some of the structure and discipline. The other thing you forget about is the infrastructure you’ve learned to depend on over the years. It’s nice not having to reinvent the wheel when it comes to figuring out health insurance, drafting contracts with vendors / suppliers, setting up basic email / knowledge management systems and such. There are whole departments dedicated to data analysis, graphic design and media, corporate communications and the like. When you start going it on your own you leave that support structure and specialized labor behind which can be scary and somewhat uncomfortable.
But I’ve discovered some aspects of startup life that have been surprising. The risk-reward equation for startups is fundamentally more extreme than corporate America, but there is at least one major force that seems to mitigate that risk: The support network inherent in the tech startup ecosystem is amazing. If you have a good idea and a talented team, investors and other successful entrepreneurs genuinely root for you. They want to hear your idea, give you free advice and connect you to potential employees / partners / investors. They don’t see you as competing for their time or capital as much as they see you as a potential contributor to the health and momentum in the tech space. The motivations behind this surprisingly strong community dynamic are selfish for sure (investors can potentially profit from your idea and other entrepreneurs can potentially learn from you, partner with you or even work for you down the road) but the end result is an amazingly supportive group of ridiculously smart and motivated people.
Second, I’m amazed how resilient the startup economy seems to really be. Yeah, the economic funk we’re in affects everyone and there have been many well-publicized pessimistic opinions floating around the tech blogosphere. But from my outsider’s perspective I’ve found a refreshingly healthy environment for startups with good ideas and strong teams. The many VC’s we’ve met with for TravelFli seem to have the kind of relaxed confidence that can only come from knowing that their past investments are putting them well ahead of the market and that they still have significant capital to put into high-potential companies.
So I guess the punch-line is that there are some people who are born entrepreneurs and some who are born to be part of corporate America. However, for folks in a big company who might be interested in testing the startup waters I would say that from my perspective the water is warm.
